Europe’s Cyber Shield: Can Homegrown Tech Break the Chains of Digital Dependency?

At Rome’s prestigious CyberSEC2026 conference, the stakes were clear: Europe’s digital future hangs in the balance. Alessandra Michelini, President and CEO of Telsy, took the stage with a warning - and a call to arms. “Reducing our dependence on technology developed outside the European Union,” she declared, “is the only way to limit our vulnerability to cyber risks and reclaim strategic autonomy.”

The urgency is not hypothetical. Ongoing wars and mounting international tensions have made it clear: digital infrastructure - from power grids to transport networks - has become a frontline in modern conflict. “Even outside of wartime, targeted cyberattacks can paralyze essential sectors,” Michelini noted, underscoring how reliant nations are on technologies often produced abroad and outside their legal reach.

For Italy and Europe, the path to digital sovereignty means developing their own cybersecurity governance. This is about more than just controlling hardware and software; it’s about ensuring that decision-making power and critical data remain within national and European jurisdictions. With the evolving regulatory landscape and new threats emerging daily, Michelini argued, “the Italian security supply chain is a strategic asset that must be protected and nurtured.”

But technology alone is not enough. Despite leaps in artificial intelligence and automation, the human factor remains central. “Specialized skills are our most effective shield against cybercrime,” Michelini emphasized. The solution? Relentless investment in high-quality, ongoing training for cybersecurity professionals - across businesses, institutions, and research bodies. Only with a constantly updated workforce can Italy and Europe hope to stay a step ahead of adversaries.

Innovation, however, is also accelerating the fight. Automation, powered by AI and advanced large language models, is supercharging the capabilities of Security Operation Centers (SOCs). These technologies can sift through massive data flows, identify threats, and coordinate rapid responses with unprecedented speed and accuracy. But, as Michelini warned, technology must complement - not replace - experienced analysts who understand the stakes and context of each attack.

Italy, for its part, possesses a formidable ecosystem: a network of companies, universities, and research centers with decades of experience defending sensitive government and industrial communications. Now, this expertise is being mobilized for the broader public and private sectors, aiming to fortify the nation’s overall cyber posture. “Investing in our knowledge base,” Michelini concluded, “will not only strengthen cybersecurity but also ensure our competitiveness in the digital economy.”

As the dust settles in Rome, the message to Europe’s leaders is unmistakable: in the digital age, control over technology is control over destiny. And as cyber threats multiply, the race to secure that control has never been more urgent - or more consequential.

WIKICROOK

• Technological sovereignty: Technological sovereignty is a nation’s effort to control its own critical technology and data, reducing reliance on foreign products for security and autonomy.
• Security Operation Center (SOC): A SOC is a dedicated team or facility that monitors, detects, and responds to cybersecurity threats in real time to safeguard organizational assets.
• Large Language Model (LLM): A Large Language Model (LLM) is an AI trained to understand and generate human-like text, often used in chatbots, assistants, and content tools.
• Threat intelligence: Threat intelligence is information about cyber threats that helps organizations anticipate, identify, and defend against potential cyberattacks.
• Critical infrastructure: Critical infrastructure includes key systems - like power, water, and healthcare - whose failure would seriously disrupt society or the economy.